Any member of the U.S. armed forces or Pentagon employee should study the conclusions of the Nuremberg Tribunals. The joint U.S.-Israeli military campaign against Iran (Operation Epic Fury / Roaring Lion), launched February 28, 2026, has not received a formal declaration of war from Congress. If you are involved in operations that violate the laws of war—particularly strikes causing disproportionate civilian deaths or damage to civilian infrastructure—you cannot rely on the defense “I was just following orders.” Nuremberg established that superior orders do not absolve individuals of responsibility for war crimes when the illegality was manifest or should have been known.
Confirmed strikes have killed more than 1,300 Iranians, including civilians in documented incidents such as the girls’ school in Minab and the sports hall in Lamerd. Recent targeting of oil refineries and storage facilities has triggered widespread fires, power outages, toxic smoke, and environmental contamination. These actions raise serious questions under international humanitarian law regarding distinction, proportionality, and unnecessary suffering.
The United States has a long-standing strategic alliance with Israel, supported by extensive legal lobbying efforts that have influenced congressional policy for decades. Israel is currently defending itself in an ongoing case at the International Court of Justice, brought by South Africa, alleging violations of the Genocide Convention in Gaza. No final ruling has been issued.
If your duties extend to actions that could escalate this conflict into a wider regional or global crisis, history will judge those choices harshly. The United States itself could face long-term strategic, economic, and moral consequences. Your oath is to the Constitution of the United States—not to any foreign government.
You now know the documented civilian toll, the lack of congressional authorization, the legal precedents from Nuremberg, and the potential for individual accountability. Internal channels exist: consult your JAG officer, inspector general, or chain of command if you have doubts about the lawfulness of any order. “I didn’t know” will not be a shield once the full record is clear.
Act with honor. Act with conscience. The world is watching, and future generations will remember
During Vietnam drafted boys frequently chose conscientious objecter status. I believe that route can still be taken by enlistees. My nephew chose to leave the army with no veterans benefits about 10 years ago. He'd been highly trained in the Arabic language and would have served by listening to enemy radio transmissions for the purpose of directing drone strikes on targets in Afghanistan. He applied for his discharge through conscientious objecter provisions found in army rules. I was never prouder of him than I was for his choice to officially object in that way.
Thank you, Bill, for the photos and your reporting on this terrible event. Reading it somehow makes me feel connected to others who share the shame and sadness of what our country is doing-- Having protested cruelty of war since Viet Nam, I find myself at a loss for the adequate words and images to bring out to the streets.
Thank you, Bill, for writing about this appalling but under-covered aspect of the recent bombings. It's not a surprise that it hasn't been dominating the headlines, but this environmental terrorism should be at the top of everyone's thinking about the nascent war.
Last night I attended "3 Faces" a beautiful film by the Iranian film maker Jafar Panahi, well worth seeing for its portayal of ordinary Iranian people and society. There was a talk after the film by a member of the local Iranian Community who pointed out that this infrastructure is "owned" by the Iranian people and the attacks directly harm them- especially the bombing of oil and water desalination infrastructure. The desalination plant, for example, took many years to achieve and it's destruction will have an immediate and devastating impact. Whilst many celebrated the death of the leader, the subsequent action has no logic as it only hurts the Iranian people.
Thank you for writing about it, Bill. It seems to be going unaddressed in the MSM. All I could think about was the horror of that toxic cloud and what we’re doing to those poor people and the environment there. It’s a shameful time.
I’m not on social media, but I just sent your post Bill to the NYTimes. Thank you. I also sent this to my two senators and Senator Thune. Not that he is worth anything.
simply horrible. we are living through a USA- and Israel made apocalypse.
And they will live alone in the midst of the world they are destroying.
And russia has both hands in it
NOTE TO MEMBERS OF U.S. MILITARY
Any member of the U.S. armed forces or Pentagon employee should study the conclusions of the Nuremberg Tribunals. The joint U.S.-Israeli military campaign against Iran (Operation Epic Fury / Roaring Lion), launched February 28, 2026, has not received a formal declaration of war from Congress. If you are involved in operations that violate the laws of war—particularly strikes causing disproportionate civilian deaths or damage to civilian infrastructure—you cannot rely on the defense “I was just following orders.” Nuremberg established that superior orders do not absolve individuals of responsibility for war crimes when the illegality was manifest or should have been known.
Confirmed strikes have killed more than 1,300 Iranians, including civilians in documented incidents such as the girls’ school in Minab and the sports hall in Lamerd. Recent targeting of oil refineries and storage facilities has triggered widespread fires, power outages, toxic smoke, and environmental contamination. These actions raise serious questions under international humanitarian law regarding distinction, proportionality, and unnecessary suffering.
The United States has a long-standing strategic alliance with Israel, supported by extensive legal lobbying efforts that have influenced congressional policy for decades. Israel is currently defending itself in an ongoing case at the International Court of Justice, brought by South Africa, alleging violations of the Genocide Convention in Gaza. No final ruling has been issued.
If your duties extend to actions that could escalate this conflict into a wider regional or global crisis, history will judge those choices harshly. The United States itself could face long-term strategic, economic, and moral consequences. Your oath is to the Constitution of the United States—not to any foreign government.
You now know the documented civilian toll, the lack of congressional authorization, the legal precedents from Nuremberg, and the potential for individual accountability. Internal channels exist: consult your JAG officer, inspector general, or chain of command if you have doubts about the lawfulness of any order. “I didn’t know” will not be a shield once the full record is clear.
Act with honor. Act with conscience. The world is watching, and future generations will remember
During Vietnam drafted boys frequently chose conscientious objecter status. I believe that route can still be taken by enlistees. My nephew chose to leave the army with no veterans benefits about 10 years ago. He'd been highly trained in the Arabic language and would have served by listening to enemy radio transmissions for the purpose of directing drone strikes on targets in Afghanistan. He applied for his discharge through conscientious objecter provisions found in army rules. I was never prouder of him than I was for his choice to officially object in that way.
Thank you, Bill, for the photos and your reporting on this terrible event. Reading it somehow makes me feel connected to others who share the shame and sadness of what our country is doing-- Having protested cruelty of war since Viet Nam, I find myself at a loss for the adequate words and images to bring out to the streets.
Thank you, Bill, for writing about this appalling but under-covered aspect of the recent bombings. It's not a surprise that it hasn't been dominating the headlines, but this environmental terrorism should be at the top of everyone's thinking about the nascent war.
Environmental terrorism - exactly
I'm in tears, shame is the correct response here
Last night I attended "3 Faces" a beautiful film by the Iranian film maker Jafar Panahi, well worth seeing for its portayal of ordinary Iranian people and society. There was a talk after the film by a member of the local Iranian Community who pointed out that this infrastructure is "owned" by the Iranian people and the attacks directly harm them- especially the bombing of oil and water desalination infrastructure. The desalination plant, for example, took many years to achieve and it's destruction will have an immediate and devastating impact. Whilst many celebrated the death of the leader, the subsequent action has no logic as it only hurts the Iranian people.
oh my gosh, what a good point. It frames the horror and cruelty of it so well.
This is unconscionable. And unforgivable. Iran is not Imperial Japan or Nazi Germany. Trump and Hegseth are war criminals.
If there is any justice left in this world, they will have to answer for it. Sickening.
So, this is Trump and Netaynahu showing the civilian population of Iran how much they really care about their well-being.
Thank you for writing about it, Bill. It seems to be going unaddressed in the MSM. All I could think about was the horror of that toxic cloud and what we’re doing to those poor people and the environment there. It’s a shameful time.
Thank you Bill McKibben!!! This is truly a war crime, and I hope the perpetrators are eventually brought to justice.
so so tragic
oh that photo, when you say it's daytime, and it's black black black...
This war is such a terrible terrible terrible thing and I hate it hate it hate it...
I believe in the golden rule most of all and I fear for what the USA has done. How many enemies were made in the last year?
I’m not on social media, but I just sent your post Bill to the NYTimes. Thank you. I also sent this to my two senators and Senator Thune. Not that he is worth anything.
Iran has a “water bankruptcy.” The Qanats, mountain water tunnels, are collapsing due to the drought. The Tehran city council has been
planning to move the city, 18 million people, to the coast.
Danke für diesen Beitrag, es ist so schrecklich und wird die Klimakrise weiter beschleunigen.